Avatar Book IV: Raijin
by The Strategist
Summary: While trying to figure the meaning of the Chronicler's words, Aang is suddenly called to the spirit world. While Zuko reveals to Katara the secret history of world's nobility and the conflict to come. Chap 3 is up
1. Prologue: Empty White Flame

Avatar Book IV: Raijin

Prologue: Empty White Flame

Madness, insanity…what is it that causes one to lose their mind? What is that causes one's thoughts to become irrational? What is it that savers a one's subconscious from reality? There are many things that drive one mad, but for the former Princess Azula, the answer lies in…**Fear**. The betrayal of her two only companions, Mai and Ty Lee, left her floating alone in a wide open sea of uncertainty and confusion. She could not understand their betrayal; she could not understand why they ceased fearing her. How could there possibly be something stronger than Fear? The thoughts replayed in her mind over and over again until she finally shut them out and wrote the two off as fools. However, after her defeat at her own coronation, her grasp on reality faded and she fell into in a sea of insanity, her mind shattered like glass smashed upon a stone.

When she first arrived at the special Mental Intuition on Insa Niti Isle and placed in the highest room of the white stone tower, rage and mad cries ruled her every behavior. Bound with chains, around hands and feet, for her own safety, she thrashed about her room like a mad beast in a cage, destroying everything she could. The doctors ordered her to be left alone; one doctor was heard to say, "Approaching her is like trying to approach a bound dragon."

And thus for two straight weeks, the former princess raged about her room until fatigue and hunger took their toll and her rage simmered into a calm, bitter silence. Only then did the nurses enter the room to clean up the mess she had made, replaced burnt furniture, and leave her food to eat.

But that was all. For another week following, still bound by chains, she was forced lean over the plate and eat like an animal. At first the resolve for revenge fueled her will to persevere, but that resolve was soon lost when nurses, many of whom were her former servants sent by her brother to look after her, began to unleash the hatred they built up under her reign of cruelty. They began to tease and taunt her like she was some beast. They looked down at her and smiled with glee at her misfortune.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen," they would laugh.

"Would _Her Highness_ like a napkin to clean her mouth?" they mocked.

Their teasing and taunting quickly set her off, but before she could spout any fire the nurses would kick hard her in the gut, stopping cold, her fiery breath, and then they kicked and beat her a few more times before leaving, laughing victoriously.

Day after the day, the nurses would take out their frustrations on her. The doctors were either unaware or didn't care. Many of them weren't very fond of her either, due to an earlier comment the former princess had made during an inspection to the effect that the institution's funding should be completely halted and the patients left to rot on the barren island. She had called the place a den of worthless idiots and the doctors themselves weak fools with the brains of rhinos and severely burned their previous chief of staff when he tried to argue the intuitions importance. He even went as far as getting on his hands and knees and begged her to keep the institute open.

As for Fire Lord Zuko, he was completely unaware and also far too busy with the aftermath of war to really pay much attention to his sister.

For the first time in her life the princess felt helpless, her hands and feet bound by chains, her hair a tangled mass, her body bruised and beaten, her inadequate robe tattered, dirty and drenched in a nausea-inducing stench that roiled her gut when she breathed too deeply. It didn't even fully cover her upper half, leaving her bare and bruised torso partially exposed. The chains that bound her were never removed, even if she had to conduct business concerning her lower half and as a result the room stank with the flumes that radiated from her bodily waste. To make matters worse, the nurses would sometimes pour her food onto the effluvia, and though she often tried to resist eating it, hunger eventually forced her to do otherwise.

Betrayed, defeated, bound like a beast, and humiliated, the former princess wept, and wished for death. She cried for her father, she prayed and hoped that he would break free and come for her, but that slight glimmer of hope faded when she learned from one of the nurses that former Fire Lord Ozai had been executed at the demand of both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom nobles. However, it was not that news that shocked her most; what shocked her most was that, deep down, she wasn't even sad for him. Though she had followed his commands to letter, though she had done everything he told her to do, she did not feel remorse for her father, but hatred. Hatred bread of a sorrow of she could not understand.

She cried for her life. She cried for her horrid fate. She was once at the height of power, worshipped by all around her. Now she was nothing, crushed hard into the mud. More than at any time in her life, the former princess felt alone… She had nothing left, her title snatched from her by defeat, betrayed by her only friends, and her father, who she'd tried her hardest to always please and whose favor she tried to keep, was now dead. She had nothing…nothing but her own life and she didn't see reason for keeping even that.

She lay helpless on the floor, her body too wrought with pain to stand, and curled up like a ball, her mind rioting. "How could this have happened to me?" she asked herself. "I'm perfect! I was perfect, what did I do to deserve this? Where did I go wrong? I did everything father asked of me and more. I never once disobeyed him. I was worshipped, people worshipped me, I was perfect…so why. Why did all this happen, why am I here, how did I end up like this? Why… why did they betray me? Why did they abandon me? Why…why…why…?"

Again and again she asked herself, _WHY_. Time slowed: hours became days, days become weeks as she fell further and further into herself, until there was nothing left but a near lifeless doll of flesh that acted purely upon instinct. Eating when it needed to and sleeping wherever it lay. Those at the facility who once picked on her lost satisfaction in making her suffer since she no longer reacted in a way that amused them. Some felt guilt and even pity. They removed the chains that bound her, took off the dirty, smelly robe that had turned brown, cleaned up her body, dressed her into a new clean white robe and brushed out her hair now a long, wild mane that was nothing more than a shadow of its former ebony glory. It became a routine: everyday a pair of nurses entered her chambers and washed her, clothed her, sometimes feed her, and brushed her hair. But the princess…she would just sit there quiet and calm, like a life-size pet doll.

The doctors finally began to talk to her and try to help her like their other patients, but the princess…she did not notice them or even knew they were there. An artist sent by the young Fire Lord needed only one word to describe her: "Empty." And it was with that word that he named the painting he made of her, the "Empty White Flame." The portrait of the white-robed, long-haired former princess, sitting against the wall of her room stunned her brother. The image was beautiful, but a painful, grotesque beauty so unbearable he ordered it covered and placed into the palace storeroom, never be seen again. To his fiancée, Mai, he said, "My sister, the Princess Azula, whom I once envied and feared…is dead…" The young Fire Lord even once thought about bringing his sister home, where she could be better cared for and looked after, but that was all it remained: a mere, passing fancy and nothing more.

---

Nearly three months had passed since the princess first arrived at the facility. Fall was nearly at an end, and winter was approaching. As always, she sat in her chamber at the top of the tower, her back against the wall, her black hair, neatly combed out by the nurses, now reaching to her thighs. Her skin, having not seen the sun for many a day, had grown pale, nearly verging on cadaverous. She had lost all sense of awareness. Her consciousness was trapped within itself, constantly questioning itself, questions to which she could not find answers…

'_Why…why…do I breathe...why…why do I eat…why…why do I go on…why…why do I live?'_ Hopeless disorder dominated, her words echoing about her each time she spoke. _'For what….for what do I continue…for what…for what purpose do I live…'_ Suddenly the white realm slowly began to be filled with… _'Smoke…I smell smoke…'_ Bit by bit, the white realm then slowly turned red with… _'heat…I feel heat…I feel hot…' finally the realm began to fill with, 'Fire…I feel fire…am I…am I going to burn? Am I …am I going to die…'_

'_Do you want to do die?_' an intruding voice suddenly asked.

'_Do I…do I want to die?_'

'_Yes…do you want to die? Is death truly what you desire?_'

'_I…I…_'

'_Your body still eats, your body still breathes, are you sure you wish to die before finding the answers you seek?_'

'_The answers I seek…_'

'_Yes, do not wish find those answers?_'

'_Do I wish to find the answers_?

'_Do you_?'

'_I…I…_'

'_Come…come with me and we will find the answers…_'

She raised her head. Standing before her in the empty white realm was a figure of crimson fire, holding out a hand. She stared at the intruder, a strangely familiar, comforting sensation washed over her. She slowly raised her hand and placed it into the figures as a bright flash filled the realm.

The princess's eyes opened wide and looked around to find her chambers set ablaze with roaring flames. But an unseen force shielded her. Dazed, Azula noticed gentle warmth encompassing her right hand. It was then that she noticed the man, swathed head-to-foot in a dark cloak, kneeling before her, her right hand cradled in his left as it were a precious, delicate object. He rose, and slowly she stood with him, confused yet oddly secure in the way he held her so dearly.

Suddenly a man burst into the room. He was dressed completely in red, bore a full head re mask, a long sword on his back, and a pouch hanging from his black belt from he pulled small metal star. He attempt the throw it, but was stopped cold by ray of crimson flames.

Azula looked at the cloaked man, who was holding out two fingers toward where the one in dark red had been standing. His eyes met hers.

"I think it's time we took leave of this place," he said, lifting her up into his arms, "Hang on."

She did not know what was going on, but wrapped her arms around his neck as he ran towards a large hole in the back of the room. Three more dark red figures charged in from the flames giving chase. The cloaked man jumped through the hole and into the air just as three fiery metal stars soared an inch above his head. As they fell, her rescuer cried out words the former princess couldn't understand, and a four-legged, cinnabar-scaled dragon the size of a komodo-rhino soared down and caught them firmly on its back. The edges of the beast's large wings then gleamed with a red-yellow light and soared off into the night sky like a shooting arrow, with a trail of brilliant vermillion particles streaming in its wake.

Azula looked back to find the tower that was once her cage completely engulfed fire. Overwhelmed, she fainted. The man smiled at her and readjusted her to where her head was on his chest and then placed his hand over her chest. It glowed a crimson fiery light that spread to the unconscious girl's chest; from the glow rose a red fiery crystal in the shape of a diamond, a small flame radiating from the center.

"Good, it's still here. I just barely managed to make it in time," he said to himself. The crystal retreated back into the light and vanished. The figure lowered his hand and looked up at the star-filled sky and frowned, "Those men; they were…" He closed his eyes and breathed slowly. "So they're finally going to make their move. But the question remains which one will be the restored: the one that strived for peace and knowledge or the one that strived for power beyond their control?" He smiled lightly and looked at the princess, "I suppose we'll just have to wait and see. Either way, it's not my place to intervene."


	2. Chapter I: Remorse for a Friend

Avatar

Book IV: Raijin

Chapter I: Remorse for a Friend

It was noon and within the gardens of the Fire Nation royal palace, young Lady Mai sat staring down at the pond of water in silent reflection, tossing pieces of bread onto the surface. A few turtle ducks gathered and snapped them up as they landed, sending ripples through the water that distorted the mirrored image of the future Fire Lady. A light breeze blew by, toying with her long dark hair. She wiped a few strands of it from her face. Though her pale golden eyes were locked on the water, her thoughts were on an old friend. A friend who she thought she had understood or should have understood.

"A copper for your thoughts?" a friendly voice intruded.

She looked over her shoulder. Standing behind her was Zuko, in the full garb of the Fire Lord, his long dark brown hair in a top knot, bearing a golden flame head piece. "I thought you were going to be in meetings all day."

"I ordered an hour break, things are really tense right now, and I'm still adjusting the life of Fire Lord," he replied sitting next to her. "So what are you doing here? I thought you hated feeding turtle ducks."

"I just needed some place to think and one of the servants recommended I come here."

"I see…So what were you thinking about?"

She didn't reply at first. Then, "Zuko, have there been any new reports from Insa Niti, have they found any more bodies?" Zuko turned from her and looked at the water with a serious, but sad frown. "Zuko…"

"No, they haven't found her body yet."

"Then there's still a chance she's alive. If they just search the island more thoroughly—" Mai started.

"There's nothing to search, Mai," Zuko interrupted "Insa Niti is practically a barren rock, and even if she did survive she'd have never been able to make it off the island, and if she did, she wouldn't have survived long. The nearest village is at least a day away by ship and the route goes through serpent infested waters; she'd have never survived the journey." He blinked slowly. "Plus I have more important things to worry about than searching for one missing metal patient."

"So you will do nothing and just leave her for dead? This is Azula, Zuko, AZULA; she'd have found a way to survive."

"What more would you have me do!" he yelled frustrated and standing up. She'd been pestering him about the incident since he received word of it a week ago. He loved Mai, and wasn't _completely _unfeeling regarding his sister's death. But he was growing weary of arguing the matter with her. "The entire tower was burned to the ground; the fire was hot enough to consume even brick and mortar. Chances are there's nothing left of her to find. I can't afford to waste resources on a futile search, especially when my court, the Fire Priests and my generals are all questioning my ability to lead. I'd look like a fool to them. I don't understand why you're so—"

"Yes, that's right," she snapped coldly, glaring at him, eye-to-eye, "you don't _**understand**_…You understand nothing." She turned to leave but Zuko immediately grabbed her wrist.

"Wait, Mai, I—"

"Let go of me!" she cried her free hand moving of its own accord at his face; Zuko caught it just in time.

"Will you just calm down for second?" Zuko demanded, more than a little surprised. "This isn't like you, why are acting—"

He was immediately silenced by her icy glare of anger as tears trailed from her eyes. His grip loosened. She broke free and ran from the gardens,all the way to her chambers, where she slammed the door shut and locked it. She leaned against the door and slipped the floor. She reached up slowly and touched her wet cheek as another tear slid down and collided with the tip of her finger.

"Am I…crying?" She pulled her hand away and looked at the glistening fingertip. "I am, I'm crying…but why? Why am I crying? Is it for Azula? Why am I upset that she's gone? She hurt Zuko; she was even going to kill him. She'd have even killed me when I betrayed her back at the Boiling Rock Prison if not for Ty Lee. So why am I crying?" She dropped her hand onto her lap and suddenly felt a strange lump on her thigh. She rubbed it with her thumb and then reached into her pocket and pulled out a wide triangle-shaped, silver locket with rounded ends on a thin sliver chain. She opened it, releasing the faint eerie glow of its black crystal**, **and a slow, enchanting melody. The song's chimes were slow with a mixed feeling of sadness and hope. It smoothed her heart, and she closed her eyes and listened, holding it to her chest. "I remember..." she whispered. She opened her eyes narrowly. "I remember…" she pulled the locket away and looked at it, "Our days at the Academy…I remember…" She continued to listen to the music, fresh tears dripping from her eyes, "I couldn't understand why I made it, but I do now…Azula…I'm sorry I didn't…I just couldn't…keep my promise."

Meanwhile, far the Fire Nation capital, on the beaches of Kyoshi Island, Ty Lee gazed out over the vast sea, the wind dancing in her hair and teasing the folds of her simple brown dress-robe. The sound of sea birds could be heard in the air, harmonizing with the roaring waves rolling in and out**, **over and over. But no matter how calming the sounds of the beach, it could not ease the pain, throbbing ache in her chest, as the young acrobat thought about her lost friend.

When Mai sent word to her of Azula's death, the usually cheerful Ty Lee literally fell to the floor, stunned with heartache. The other Kyoshi Warriors could not understand her sorrow and were puzzled by her sadness. Ty Lee, in turn, did not attempt to explain it and merely kept to herself.

"Azula…" she moaned sadly. "Why…did you have to die…? Just when we were preparing to visit you, why did you have to die?" she lowered her head as another tear escaped her.

"I thought I'd find you here," a voice said.

Ty Lee turned. Standing behind her was Suki, dressed in a robe similar to her own.

"Suki," Ty Lee said. She wiped her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question," the Kyoshi Leader replied. She sat down next to her. "You missed practice again; that makes five days in a row. Just what's with you? Ever since you got that letter about Azula, you've been moping around nonstop. You can't really be all that sad that she's gone, can you?"

"So what if I am?"

"You gotta be kidding," Suki replied. "In case you've forgotten, she had you thrown in jail."

"She could have done worse," Ty lee asserted, staring down at the grains of sand.

"Oh yes, let's applaud her for not having you executed." Suki said rolling her eyes.

"You don't understand…"

"And just what is it that I don't understand?"

"…everything…" Ty Lee replied, standing up.

"Then help me understand," Suki replied, standing as well. "Help me understand why someone as kindhearted as you is so worried about someone as coldhearted, self-centered and tyrannical, as Azula." Ty Lee gave her a no reply and gripped her fists. Suki looked at her, frowning with frustration. "Well, I may not understand why you're dwelling over her death, but I do understand this: Azula was a cruel, malevolent she-dragon, who, for all we know, started that fire in the first place."

Tears leaked from the young acrobat's tightly closed eyes, as her fists tightened even more.

Suki hammered on, seemingly oblivious to Ty lee's distress. "While in prison I learned more about your late princess and from what I've heard, if anyone ever deserved to died for her crimes, no one was more deserving than—"

"QUIET!" Ty Lee cried angrily, tears trailing down her cheeks. "QUIET! QUIET! QUIET! You know nothing about Azula, NOTHING! NOTHING! NOTHING! So don't think you can judge her!" She then turned and ran into the forest surrounding the village, ignoring Suki's calls. She stopped at the outside of the village wall and leaned against it. She slipped on the fallen leaves to the ground, and looked up at the white and blue mixed sky. She reached down into her robe and pulled out a silver triangle-shaped locket with rounded ends. She opened it and a faint light radiated from the silver crystal within, along with a slow, soft melody.

Slow but enchanting, sad yet hopeful; the chiming melody smoothed the young girl's pain filled heart. She sat quietly, the locket resting in her hand upon her lap. Her head hung forward and her tears dripped like rain drops, damping her brown robe.

"I never forgot…" she said softly and sadly. "I never forgot…those days at the Academy. The way we were…I never forgot." She gazed at the locket. "That's why I…that's why I held you those two times. I didn't care how much you threatened me or how tough you acted. I knew what layunder that cold and cruel exterior. I knew why you wanted me to fear you. That's why I…why I made…." She grasped her hands together, the locket's silver chain hanging through the crack. She held it to her heart as tears slipped out of her eyes. "I'm sorry…I so sorry…I didn't…just couldn't keep my promise. I'm so sorry…Azula…" Her tears continued drip, one after the other, as the music of the locket played on…

Back in the Fire Nation, day had turned to dusk and all basked in a vermillion glow. Within the Royal Palace, Fire Lord Zuko had dismissed his court and sat quietly in his study. He was satisfied with how things went that day, but there was one matter that still bothered him the most and was not discussed by his council: his fiancée. Mai meant much to him and it pained him to see her so sad. He wanted to help her, but didn't know how. He also could not understand her sorrow over his sister's death; he never once thought that there was more to their friendship besides fear. But what was it? What was it about their friendship that would make Mai so upset? He leaned forward on his ruby-marble desk, with his hands folded beneath his chin. She was right. He understood nothing. He didn't even understand Azula completely; he had always seen her as a cruel, snobby little sister who always seemed to be so perfect at everything up until her defeat. He looked at a sheet-covered painting leaning against the wall. He was not cold to her death. After all, with his mother's location still unknown, she had been part of what little family he had left. He got up, walked to the painting, and gripped the sheet. He breathed softly and then hesitantly lifted it up and looked at the picture it hid. It was the last painting made of his sister, the one that pained him with guilt to even look at. Her sitting there quietly against the wall with her vague expression, her hair a long vibrant dark mane, her golden eyes as void as a doll's, and her skin as pale as her white robe, she looked like a vacant vessel without a soul.

He dropped the sheet and turned his back to it almost immediately, gripping his fists. He just couldn't stand to look at. When he received word of Azula's death he was saddened, but nowhere near as much as Mai. He wanted to do something to help her, but how could he, when he did not understand why she was feeling such sorrow.

He closed his eyes and thought.

He did understand one thing: what it was like to lose someone close to you. He understood the sorrow and pain it inflicted. He left his study and made his way to Mai's chamber, ignoring the bows of the servants and guards as he passed. Then something**…**a strange sound**, **made him stop suddenly in a deserted cross-hall. Looking around, he spied two large double doors, off to one side in an alcove hung with sumptuous crimson curtains now beginning to grey with dust. It was Azula's old chambers. He was going to continue onward to Mai's when he heard a soft, faint melody echoing through the hall from behind the door. He went to the doors and found one of them ajar. He peered inside and found Mai sitting on Azula's old dusty bed, holding a strange glowing object in her hands. He ventured into the room, hesitant and feeling something like an intruder, closing the door behind him. Carefully, he treaded over and sat beside her. Between her hands, cradled like a fragile blossom, lay the source of the glow. It was a silver locket in the shape of a wide, round-ended triangle. The strange music seemed to flow from the light lavender crystal in its center. The young Fire Lord faintly recognized the locket. It had once belonged to his sister. It had been many years since he last saw it. He remembered Azula nearly fried him when he took it hid from her as a joke. It was the maddest he'd ever seen her.

He slowly reached out and hesitantly wrapped his arm around his fiancée, and gently pulled her towards him. She didn't stop him and laid her head on his shoulder, never removing her gaze from the locket as she listened intently to the soft melody.

They sat together in silence, as the remaining sunlight transcended into moonlight, shining through the windows in the east half of the room and the skylight above. Then, finally, Mai spoke.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"For what?" Zuko replied.

"For how I acted earlier, I know it isn't like me to act out like that," she said, squeezing the locket closed.

"It's alright, I like it when you act out," Zuko replied with a light smile. "If anyone should be sorry it's me. I should have realized how you much you were hurting. I just never expected that you had such a strong friendship with Azula. I mean with the way she treated you and Ty Lee, I thought..."

"I don't blame you for thinking that way. After travelling with her after she recruited me in Omashu, I often wondered why I was there at all. I'd forgotten what had made us friends in the first place." She closed her eyes, speaking almost to herself. "Omashu was the first time I'd seen her since Ozai pulled her from the Academy. Though we had stayed in contact through letters, she eventually stopped writing, but I could tell from her letters that she was anything but happy in the palace. I don't know what happened to her; now that I think about, I can't even remember what was in the letters. But I do remember reading every letter. During the summer recess I begged mother constantly to take me to the palace so I could see her, but she said no each time. Whenever I tried to press her slapped me for misbehaving and had me taken to my room. It was because I acted out so much that my mother eventually pulled me from the Academy. She saidI'd better off withprivate tutors,but I think she was just afraid of losing control of me. When the summer recess ended, I didn't return to the Academy.A few months later Azula stopped writing. I remember the last letter I received had bloodstains on it. I still don't know how they got there."

"Did you ever ask her about it?"

"Yes, and I'll never forget how she reacted; it would lead Ty Lee and me to make a promise we would later regret."

"What do you mean?"

"When I asked her about the letter, she started getting very defensive and denied ever sending it. I pressed her, but continued to deny it and said she didn't know what I was talking about. It was at that moment things started to get strange." Mai closed her eyes more tightly and took a deep breath. "She suddenly started to grip her arms, and then began mumbling to herself. 'Father loves me…he just wanted me to be strong…the training was harsh because he wanted me to be strong…he loves me…he has to love me.' She then gripped her head and to shake while same thing over and over again, 'father loves me, it hurts because loves me, he has to love me.' It was the first time I'd ever seen her like that; I didn't know what to do. But Ty lee tried to help. She knelt down right next to her and touched her shoulder…that's all. She just touched her, but was enough to make Azula _snap_ and throw fire at her."

"Did she hurt her?" Zuko asked worryingly.

"No, she just barely missed," Mai answered. "But Ty Lee didn't even flinch, she reached out and hugged her, but Azula went crazy and started beating and clawing at hers arms and back. She was like a panicked animal trying to escape a cage. I joined in, she was my friend after all and seeing her like that…was _frightening_. When she finally calmed down, she said, out of nowhere, 'don't betray me…don't abandon me…promise me...please. Promise me you'll never betray me!'" Mai fell silent, as if the words had drained her ability to speak them.

"What did you do?" Zuko asked quietly after a long moment.

"What do you think?" she replied. "We did the only thing we felt we could do at that time. We promised. We promised her that we would never betray her, that we would always be loyal to her. But that wouldn't be the first time we made that promise, because that wouldn't be the only time Azula…" Mai opened her eyes. "We would make the same promise again at Ember Island." She opened her hand, revealing the locket, "Each of us has a locket like this. This one's Azula's I found it at the bottom of her wardrobe, mine's in my night, Ty Lee opened hers for whatever reason, and moment the music started she froze at first and then suddenly, attacked her with fire, screaming at her to turn it off. I'm surprised you didn't hear her. Ty lee closed it, and just like before, Azula fell on her knees, hugging herself and mumbling, 'I turned it off, please don't hurt me, I turned it off, please father don't hurt me, please don't hate me…' We calmed her down the same way as before, holding her until she made us promise to never betray her…and Just like before we promised…we promised her…we swore to her, that we would never betray her, that we would always be loyal to her." She paused. "As you know we didn't…we couldn't…keep that promise."

"Do you regret it?"

"Breaking it, no. Making it in the first place, yes." Her eyes narrowed. "I can only imagine how she must've hurt, how it must have felt to have had someone make a promise like that to you without hesitation, only to have it broken when finally put to the test. I can't help but feel responsible for her mind breaking the way it did."

"But it wasn't your fault," Zuko replied. "If there's one thing I've learned from Uncle, it's that we're all in charge of are own paths, and Azula chose hers."

"You're probably right, but she might not have had a choice, and if she did, she couldn't see it," Mai replied. "Unlike you, she didn't have someone who could show her that other choice and the person she did have, disappeared a long ago."

"Who?"

She gave no reply. She opened the locket once more, her eyes locked onto its light lavender crystal. The music played throughout the room and tear slipped from her eyes as she slipped down and laid her head into his lap. Zuko said nothing; he just gently rubbed her shoulder. "It's alright, you've told me enough today," he said softly. "Whenever you're ready talk again, I'm right here. No matter what, I'll always be right here."

Silence enveloped them and the pair listened to locket's soft music, oblivious to the shadowed eyes watching them through the skylight watcher stood and then ran along the roof until he came upon another sky light**. ** He opened it and then dropped into a room barely lit by torchlight. He knelt down before a desk**, **where another shadow-shrouded figure sat quietly writing by the light of a single candle.

"Why have you disturbed me, servant? Why are you not watching your target?" the figure asked.

"Forgive me my Master, but I have made a discovery that I felt you should know about," the Servant replied softly, his head held down.

"And what could be so important that you would abandon your post**,** and come here?"

"It is the Lady Mai, Master; she possesses a strange object that radiates with an amethyst glow. I also felt a slight amount of elemental power flowing from it."

"And this is important, why?" the Master asked, still writing.

"Master, I feel it may be a Mahou Crystal,"

The Master stopped writing, "A Mahou Crystal…well well," he said, looking up, "That _is _important." He folded his hands beneath his chain. "Tell me, what did it look like?"

"Master, it was too far away for me to get a good look, but I am certain that it is a Mahou Crystal. If you would only give me the order I shall retrieve it for you immediately."

The Master leaned back in his chair, wrapped in quiet thought. After a few seconds reflection, he said, "No…whatever it is you saw, I doubt it was Mahou Crystal or of any real importance. Even if it is, we can obtain it at the time of our choosing." He stood and turned to a shadowed stone tablet hanging on the wall to his right. "All is going according to plan." He touched the tablet and grazed his hand over its surface. "From the day my great-grandfather deceived that fool Sozin into starting the war, to our infiltration of the Earth Kingdom that crippled their ability to unite, to our manipulation of information that kept Ozai from effectively searching for the Avatar, to the imminent departure of the five most influential White Lotus from this world. All has gone according to plan. The board is resetting, the players are stepping forward, and when the next round begins, the Majority will hold all the pieces."


	3. Chapter II: One Final Smile

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Book IV: Raijin

Chapter II: One Final Smile

It was morning in the eastern Earth Kingdom. Farmers setting out to glean the fields before the first of the winter snow looked up as a large shadow overtook the cloudy sky. They smiled and waved happily at the last air-bison, Appa, and his master Avatar Aang sitting on his head. However, the young Avatar paid no mind to the greetings below as he flew towards Ba Sing Se. His light orange cloak flapped around his yellow robes like wings in the wind as his mind focused on recent events since the war's end, and his important up-coming meeting with his four most recent predecessors.

With him, sitting in the saddle, reading a letter was Katara, wearing a silver-lined sky-blue dress. She rolled up the letter and closed her eyes in thought. Anxiety gripped her face and her eyes drifted open to stare helplessly into empty air.

"Master Pakku…" she whispered to herself. "I don't understand. How did this happen? First Bumi and now you…but you both looked perfectly healthy at Toph's birthday party, so why…?"

A month ago, Toph's father, Lord Bei Fong, moved to the capital to help King Bumi who, at the royal court's insistence, became the temporary ruler of the kingdom after the capital's liberation. At the palace, Lord Bei Fong, thrilled to have his daughter back, made a grand event of her thirteenth birthday, inviting not only her closest friends, but the Five Liberators of Ba Sing Se as well: Master Iroh, uncle to Fire Lord Zuko, retired Fire Nation general Jeong Jeong, Waterbending Master Pakku, Swordmaster Piandao and, of course, King Bumi. About a week after the party word spread that four of the five masters suddenly fell ill. Master Pakku, given the cold and hostile environment of the polar regions and King Bumi, being over a hundred years old, were in the worse condition, while Piandao and Jeong Jeong, according to Sokka and Zuko, had only recently become bedridden.

The young waterbending master was worried about her grandfather and wanted to return to the South Pole, but couldn't bring herself to leave Aang. Toph's latest letter mentioned that Bumi's condition had turned for the worse and that he was not expected to live much longer.

She took a deep breath and then carefully she made her way over the front edge of the saddle and over to Aang and wrapped her arms around him from behind. "I'm…I'm sure Bumi's fine. He's survived this long after all."

He reached up and gently touched her arm. "I hope you're right, because I don't think I could bear to lose a friend this soon after the war."

"I know what you mean."

The two looked forward as the vast Earth Kingdom capital came into view. They immediately spotted an airship, emblazoned with the Fire Nation emblem, moored to the outer wall in the direct line of their approach.

"Looks like Zuko's here," Katara said. "Do you think the rumors about Iroh are true?"

"I hope not, because that's the last thing Zuko needs on his mind," Aang said.

The two flew over the wall and went directly to the palace. Landing in the forecourt at the head of the vast central staircase, they were greeted by four people, two of whom they recognized: Fire Lord Zuko, flanked by two elite Firebenders clad in intimidating crimson armor and full-faced masked helms, and Toph, uncomfortably, attired in the formal robes of the Earth Kingdom royal court, her long black hair corralled in an elaborately styled bun. The other two were a man with a gray-lined, dark brown beard, wearing a regal green robe cut to create the illusion of broad shoulders, the fashionably curled toes of his shoes poking out from beneath the hem of his robe. The other…the other…Aang got a nervous feeling from. He had lightly tanned skin, looked to be between Zuko and Katara's height, and was standing as still as pillar in an all-concealing brown cloak and hood. Despite the fact that he stood so still, the young Avatar felt a queer sort of fear stealing over him, like he was a fox-deer in the presence of a wolf-bat that had not quite made up its mind whether or not to eat him.

The group approached the couple as they dismounted the bison.

"Aang, Katara, glad you guys could make it," Toph said as she reached them, "Where's Momo?"

"He was asleep when we left and I didn't have time to wake him, so I left him with Teo at the Northern Air Temple. How's Bumi?" Aang asked, firmly gripping his staff, his eyes on the Stranger.

"The same as when I sent you the letter," Toph answered.

"What are you doing here Zuko? Are the rumors about Iroh true?" Katara asked.

"I don't know; I haven't seen him since I arrived earlier this morning. I went by his home, but his servants said he wasn't in. I thought he might be here at the palace," Zuko said.

"So who are they?" Aang asked looking at the bearded man and the cloaked stranger.

"I am He Jin, Avatar Aang, Prime Minister and head of the regency council, that now rules in King Bumi's stead. Please forgive me for this poor reception; we were not expecting you."

"And who is that person?" Aang asked indicating the still-silent stranger with a curt nod of his head.

"He is—"

"I am just an unimportant guest, Avatar Aang," the Stranger answered in polite tone, and a short bow of his head, "you may ignore me."

"… If you say so," Aang replied. But despite the stranger's polite words, Aang could not help but feel disturbed by his presence. He glanced at the others, Katara and Zuko seemed calm enough, but Toph seemed a little surprised, as if she'd been off guard. It was rare for her to look so stunned. He looked at the stranger again, but he simply didn't _look_ threatening in anyway. He decided not worry about it for the time being, and put his focus back where it belonged. "Where's Bumi?" he asked, turning to He Jin.

"In his chambers. I will take you to him now, if you will all follow me," He Jin said.

With the Prime Minister leading, they entered the palace and made their way through the large jade-colored halls. Its walls were glittering with the most luxurious décor a King could want, from magnificent paintings, to silk carpets, to gold-lined tapestries. However, the constant hustle and bustle of the day to day happenings of nation's administrative center, and royal living quarters was conspicuously, eerily, absent.

"This place is a little…a lot quieter since the last time I was here. Everyone looked so busy then, but now…" Katara stated.

"King Bumi's condition has put the entire palace in a somber mood. There is a lot of anxiety about the future of the country. With the Earth King still missing—"

"What! Kuei still hasn't returned?" Katara asked, "But hasn't Bumi tried to find him?"

"It's not like the Earth Kingdom needs Kuei; we've been working things out just fine," Toph said, somewhat rudely.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the Waterbender replied.

"The priority isn't finding Kuei, but finding a possible replacement if he remains missing," Zuko interjected unexpectedly. "If the throne is vacant, governing authority falls to the next in line, unless that person is under fifteen years of age. In the case of the Earth Kingdom, that person would be Bumi. But now that Bumi cannot carry on the regency, the Prime Minister, as head of the Council of Court Ministries, steps in in his stead. However, the throne can only be occupied by a member of the royal family here in Ba Sing Se. Bumi was supposed to pass the reins on to a relative of Kuei's, so I imagine the Council is searching for a suitable candidate?" He looked at He Jin for confirmation.

"You…are correct Fire Lord Zuko," He Jin said. "While Earth King Kuei is still seen as the official ruler of the city, his long-term absence has caused many, including myself, to fear the worst. Therefore we have begun considering possible candidates to the throne."

"While I have no authority in the Earth Kingdom, the absence of your country's monarch does concern me. There are many issues that I needed to talk to Bumi about, especially in the area of the west coast—" Zuko began, but noticed the troubled looks Aang and Katara were shooting him, immediately said, "On second thought, forget it; I'll discuss it with you another time."

"Discuss what?" Katara asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Merely a concern for the Council and the Fire Lord, young miss," He Jin answered pleasantly, "nothing that need to concern you."

"What that's supposed mean?" Katara demanded, irritated by the man's patronizing manner.

"He means it's none of your business," Toph replied. Katara frowned at her. "Hey don't feel too bad, I'm a noble and I don't even know what's going on. My dad doesn't tell me anything." She turned to Aang, "What about you Twinkle Toes, have you been getting any secret Avatar exclusive updates on things?"

Lost in the thought, the young avatar didn't reply, his eyes trailing vaguely over the tiles as the group walked on.

"Aang…" Katara said softly.

"Huh, what…uh yeah…whatever," he replied.

Everyone went silent; it was clear where Aang's thoughts were. They continued through the palace until they arrived at two large double doors embossed with two armadillo lions, and two elite earthbenders standing guard outside. The Guards bowed to the Prime Minister and opened the doors. Zuko ordered his own guards to stay outside. They passed through a luxurious office with a jade-green marble desk in the back with a large cushioned chair of the same color standing behind it. Three bookcases filled to the brim with strolls, a rug shaped like the Earth Kingdom royal emblem covered the center of the of the floor and four tapestries bearing the pictures of tiger-wolves hung near each corner of the room. Passing through, they opened and went through second door in the back near the west corner and entered a lavish room, bedecked with jade-colored marble floors and furniture, an extravagant rug taking up the center of the room. Upon this rug stood Bumi's sick-bed, its green curtains tied back to its posts. A dozen young handmaidens surrounded the bed with worried expressions, along with a middle-aged doctor with a long, gray beard. The Doctor's eyes bore signs of exhaustion and were locked upon the bed's occupant, King Bumi.

After living a life-span that many men can only dream of and showing himself to be as tough, resilient, and capable as any man half his age and younger, it seemed that Death was finally closing in on its most elusive target. Bumi's eyes looked weary, his face thin, his hair hung flat, rather than pointed up and high. Gone was the always-cheerful smile that brightened the hearts and eased the worries of so many. The once strong, proud, and powerful earthbender was now but a shell of his former self. Aang's eyes nearly fell to tears when he saw his old friend. Dropping his staff, he rushed to the bedside, brusquely pushing the handmaidens out of the way. The Prime Minister dismissed the staff.

"Bumi!' he cried distressingly.

The old King opened his somnolent eyes and slowly took on a smile as he saw the young Avatar. "Aang...you came…you came…" he said in a sickly voice.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

"I…I am glad…glad that I can...that I can see you...one...one final ti—" a fierce cough cut short his words, his body so weak that he couldn't even cover his mouth.

"Bumi!"

"I'm fine…I'm fine…just one of those old people things…" the King said with a light smile and chuckle. One could not help but smile, though be it a sad smile, at the King's lightheartedness at his condition. Bumi looked at Aang, "That's it, smile…a smile is…is always better than…than a frown when seeing someone off."

"Seeing you off?" Aang exclaimed, shocked. "What are talking about? You're going to get better."

"No, I'm not," Bumi replied, shaking his head. "My time is up, and I have no regrets. It is the way of the world…all part of balance…" he coughed lightly. "People come…and people go...people are born…and people—"

"Don't talk like that, you're going to get better, you're—" Aang cried, tears forming in his eyes.

"That's enough, Aang," Bumi snapped weakly. "You…you are the Avatar, and as such you must respect the natural order. People live…and people die. It is…it is a necessary cycle...and one that you…you of people…must accept and respect." Aang looked at his friend with grief-stricken eyes. "Now what's with that face? Didn't I tell you…you should smile when saying goodbye to friends..." Aang didn't feel like smiling, but he dried his watering eyes and slowly forced his lips to smile. "Good that's better…" Bumi nodded with a smile.

Katara and the others stayed back. The Waterbender watched Aang, trying hard to fight back her own tears, quickly drying her eyes as soon one started to slip out. Zuko bowed his head, his expression composed even as his heart went out to the young Avatar: to the lose the one friend he had left who knew what the world was like before the war…he knew the pain losing someone close to one's heart, but he could imagine how greater that pain must be for one who is actually to see that friend in their final moments. Toph was Toph, and tried to sport a tough appearance, furtively wiping away the tears slipping from her sightless eyes. He Jin turned his head away, an uncomfortable witness to the Avatar's grief. The cloaked stranger, unbeknownst to everyone else, stood off to one side, writing away in a note pad. He Jin frowned at this disrespectful activity, but said nothing.

"Now Aang, I want…I want you to promise me something…" the King Bumi said with a cough. "The war's end was only…was only the beginning of a new era. Much is about to happen...the world as you see it will change greatly. As the Avatar you will…you will be faced with much hardship. You will have to…have to make decisions that you may later—" he coughed, "you may later hate yourself for. But I…I want you to promise me, that no matter…no matter what stands before for you…no matter the pressure and the guilt you may feel, promise me that…that you will never go against your duty as the Avatar. Promise me…that no matter what you may have to give up…no matter what hardship you will have to bear. You will stay true to the traditions, the duties, and contract of being the Avatar. Do you promise?"

"Yes," Aang agreed quietly.

"No matter what?"

"No matter what. I'll do as you ask, I'll stay true to my duties as the Avatar, no matter what," Aang vowed strongly.

Bumi gave him a big smile, "Good…Good..." he nodded weakly. "Well…I'll be seeing yah…and remember, Aang, no matter what challenges you face…always…always think…like a mad…a mad ge…ni…us…" His eyes slowly closed, his final word fading away into silence.

All was quiet, except for the except for Aang's quiet sobs. Katara ran over and held him. Zuko gripped his fists as he tried to put a strong front and not let his tears fall, and lowered his head in respectful mourning. Toph could not halt the sad tears that fled her eyes. The Prime Minster quietly dried his wet eyes, and the practiced mask of a courtier and politician slipped back into place. The stranger was the only one in the room who didn't seem affected by what happened in slightest. Pen and notepad in hand, he walked over to the bed and looked at the still king.

"And so it ends," he said as he wrote in his notepad. "I hereby record the death of Earth King-Regent, Bumi of Omashu, four hours before noon, on the sixteenth day of the eleventh month, of the zero-year After Sozin's War." He looked at Bumi's still form again. "After a hundred and twelve years of life King Bumi now exists only in memory. A shame such a great men's story has to end in such tragic way, but that is cycle of life: no man's story can avoid an ending, no matter how great they are."

Zuko looked at the stranger and then glanced over at He Jin who nodded.

"Forgive me, Chronicler," He Jin said to the stranger. "I know you have much to do, but could we have a talk in the next room? There is something I need to discuss with you."

"Certainly," the so-called "Chronicler" answered.

He Jin turned to Aang. "Avatar Aang, I know you are in pain over what has just happened, but this matter is of importance to you as well. So if don't you mind, please join us. Ms. Katara and Lady Toph may come as well."

In truth, Aang wasn't ready to leave Bumi's side, but Katara coaxed into him it, and the group left the bed chamber into the office they'd passed through earlier.

"Now then, what is it you wished to discuss?" the Chronicler asked.

"When can we expect the Chronicle on King Bumi's life to be released?"

"There is a lot of information that must reviewed, lest it end up with twice the thickness of one's arm. King Bumi enjoyed telling stories, especially when one of our members was around, and he made it abundantly clear that he wanted every word recorded. It will take us some time to compile all the information into a single basic biography. At the least it will take about six months to a year, maybe longer," the Stranger replied. "If that is all, I will be going." He turned to leave.

"And the second one?" He Jin asked.

"I'm afraid I don't follow," the he answered, glancing back.

"Do not attempt to feign away from this, Chronicler. The Fire Lord, myself, and every member of the nobility know all about the second chronicles that the Bian Nian Shi sometimes release on a person."

"Bian Ni-what—what are you talking about? For that matter, just who are you talking to?" Toph asked.

"What do you mean? Can't you sense him, he standing just a few feet across from you," Katara asked in a worried tone.

"The only people I sense are you, Aang, Zuko and the Prime Minister. I could hear a fifth person, but I…I can't sense him, just who is he? What's going on?" Toph asked, slightly distressed.

"How can that—" Katara started.

"The Prime Minister is talking to is a member of the Bian Nian Shi," Zuko interrupted, not wanting things to go into a different direction. "They are an order of chroniclers believed to have existed long before any of the four nations were established. Not much is known about them except that little happens beneath their notice. They record various events in history and release startlingly accurate accounts on them ten or so years after the event. While some have praised their works as the only truly trustworthy records of history, others have cursed them because they reveal information some would have preferred remained secret."

"It has been said that he who holds the power, controls history, and may write an event as he wills, but the Bian Nian Shi's existence has made such manipulation near impossible. An example of such can be found in an incident that took place over thousand years ago, involving King Yuan Ten, a previous ruler of Omashu." He closed his eyes**, **apparently recalling the story from memory. "Yuan Ten, during his reign held an iron grip on the lands he governed. Rumors had reached Ba Sing Se of his tyranny, but there was too little evidence for anyone to do anything, as he had a wide support amongst the nobility and the royal court. That is, until one day the Bian Nian Shi released a chronicle detailing the sacking of a village about ten or so years earlier. The event, as King Yuan Ten told it, was originally blamed on a group of rogue soldiers but the chronicle revealed a different story. It was said that when King Yuan Ten first read the chronicle he turned white as snow."

"Why, what was in the Chronicle that spooked him so badly?" Katara asked.

"The Chronicle described in great detail what really happened that day. It turned out that the group of rogue soldiers, who were originally blamed for the assault, were actually trying to protect the village from King Yuan Ten and his personal guard. He had attacked it because the villagers refused to hand over one of their own, a girl who'd once refused the King's advances, thwarted his attempt to rape her, and escaped," He Jin explained. He turned and looked at the Chronicler. "The Chronicle was found to be so accurate and detailed, that all his supporters immediately distanced themselves from him. His own personal guard, upon hearing the Earth King was going to personally arrest Yuan Ten with an army of half a million men, killed him and presented his head to the Earth King in a desperate plea for forgiveness."

"His own men betrayed and killed him. Wow, that must have been some damning chronicle," Toph said. While she was still nervous about not being to sense the Chronicler, she figured she'd wait before pressing for details as to why.

"Indeed it was. The incident's infamy still has power today. The powerful cannot act without the fear that a Bian Nian Shi chronicle will one day expose things they'd much rather keep secret. Their impact became even greater when all four nations agreed that any crime revealed in a Bian Nian Shi chronicle would be punished, no matter how old," He Jin said. He faced the Chronicler with a firm and serious expression. "It is for that reason that I wish to know when King Bumi's second Chronicle will be released."

"But why, what is so important about a second Chronicle? Isn't the first one enough?" Aang asked.

"The Bian Nian Shi hold a strict code of no inference in world affairs, unless it involves one of their members. It is because of this code that they normally don't release a chronicle for at least ten, twenty, to sometimes even thirty years, after the event. The long distance between the occurrence and the release is meant to eliminate, if not at least negate, any affects the truths in the chronicle may have on the world," Zuko explained. "Despite this, the truths revealed in a person's second chronicle have led to full-blown civil wars in the Earth Kingdom, harsh and sometimes even violent tribal disrupts amongst the water tribes, Air Nomads being exiled, and Princes leading cues in the Fire Nation. From scandals, to murders, to plots against the throne; all such information is often found in the pages of a second chronicle on a person's life, including the cause of death, like if the person has been _**poisoned**_."

"P…poisoned…" Aang said wide-eyed

"And just what are you implying?" the Chronicler asked.

"The Fire Lord and I have suspected foul play in the sudden illness, and now death, of King Bumi for some time now. You're a Bian Nian Shi, you have access to information and knowledge many of our scholars could only dream of obtaining. We have no doubt that you know something about King Bumi's death. Please tell us, just what is it you know?" He Jin asked.

The Chronicler was silent at first. "Those who seek to record history, Prime Minister, must first remove themselves from that history. They must blend in with the surroundings and be like the wall of a room, the tree of a forest, or a post in a town. Always watching, always listening, but never…interfering, even if they can prevent a tragedy from occurring. They must resign themselves to being nothing more than an observer at all times."

"In other words, you won't tell us," Katara said.

"I am sorry, but it is our way. No matter what, we cannot reveal what we have not yet written, archived, and released," the Chronicler said.

"But if Bumi was poisoned, than his death isn't natural, it's _**murder**_! How can you stay quiet about something like that?" Aang demanded angrily.

"Again, I am sorry," the Chronicler replied.

Aang frowned. It was clear to him that this young man knew something about Bumi's death. He tightened his fist and a soft breeze began to stir in the room until Katara walked forward and touched his shoulder.

"Can't you at least give us is some short of hint or clue. Something, anything that might figure the person responsible?" Katara asked.

The Chronicler was silent at first, then said, "The Minority and Majority…"

"What," Aang said.

"Long ago the balance between the Minority and Majority in the Earth Kingdom was disrupted, and that is all I can say. You'll have to figure out the rest for yourself," he said. Then turned and gave a light and then left the room.

He exited the palace; as he neared the stairs a tan-skinned woman, ribbons of long brown hair hanging over her breasts as they emerged from the hood of her white, floor-length gown approached him. The two paused as they passed one another…

"I take it the first of the five is—" the woman said.

"Dead, yes, but I feel the Prime Minister is growing rather impatient with us. As is the Avatar," the Chronicler.

"You needn't worry about the Prime Minister; if our predictions are correct he will not be in his position much longer. As for the Avatar, he is but a child, and he will learn his true place in the world soon enough?"

"What of Master Iroh?"

"Someone has already been sent to deliver our special gift to him."

"Then there is nothing left for me to do here. I must to return to Fire, less she awaken without me there."

"Be careful my friend. You have only begun repairs on her mind and her will is still broken. While the council has agreed that she may stay in the groves to help with her healing, remember not to allow yourself to get too close to her. The promises of the father needn't be the promises of the son."

"I will keep that in mind," he replied, and the two continued on their separate ways…


	4. Chapter III: A Lesson in History

Avatar

Book IV: Raijin

Chapter III: A Lesson in History

Black flags of mourning fluttered high over the city of Ba Sing Se and black cloths drooped from every window. The streets had emptied, most citizens observing private mourning rites for their departed regent. It was an unusual quietness for such a large and usually busy city. At the palace, all but the guards were sent home to grieve. The only activity taking place was in the secret meeting between Fire Lord Zuko and Prime Minister He Jin in a private audience chamber. Aang, Katara, and Toph had been relegated to a private side room to await its conclusion.

"Just what are they doing in there?" Toph asked.

"Probably just discussing official business, I'd much rather figure out what the Chronicler was talking about," Aang said. "He said, 'Long ago the balance between the Minority and Majority in the Earth Kingdom was disrupted.' Just what are the Minority and Majority?"

"We know what a minority and majority are, but I don't think he was talking about the literal meaning. He spoke as if they were two specific groups of people," Katara said.

"But who would name themselves "the Minority" and "the Majority"?" Toph asked.

"They didn't," a voice said. They all looked towards the open audience hall door where He Jin and Zuko were standing. "The Bian Nian Shi gave them those names; they just shortened them from their original meaning," the Prime Minister said.

"What do you mean?" Aang said.

"If you really want to know, I'll explain on the way to the Fire Nation. I have to get back to the capital, NOW," Zuko said, quickly leaving the room. Aang and the others watched him leave and then turned to He Jin.

"Prime Minister, what's going on?" Aang asked.

"Fire Lord Zuko will explain it you, you should go before he leaves you behind," He Jin answered.

The others looked at each other then followed after Zuko, not noticing the masked, hooded figure stepping from the shadows of the meeting room behind He Jin.

"Is something wrong?" the Prime Minister asked.

"Your actions, Prime Minister, were not part of the agreement. My master will not be pleased."

"What difference does it make?" He Jin replied. "The moment Sozin took his eyes off the Fire Nation's Majority, you won. The war was nothing more than a veil, meant hide your activities from the world's two most power monarchs."

The Intruder looked at He Jin and squinted. "Just what are you up to, Master He Jin?"

"I am merely doing my duty: serving the Earth Kingdom, regardless of who is in control. That is how my family has served for centuries," He Jin replied.

The Intruder stared at him, "Careful Prime Minister, lest the Minority suffer a harsh deduction in leadership."

He Jin closed his eyes in thought for a moment and then glanced back to find the figure gone. "Over thousands of years of waiting and watching and still some of us have learned nothing…" He blinked slowly. "I'm sorry Zuko but I must do what is best for my people…or rather, what will cause them the least bit of suffering…"

Outside the palace, in the courtyard where Appa was being stabled, Aang and the others rushed towards bison...

"Zuko, we'll give you a ride back to your air—AHH," Aang cried as his eyes and arrow tattoos suddenly started to glow and forced him to a halt.

"Aang, what's wrong?" Katara asked in concern.

"I don't know I can't…I can't—ARGH." His eyes trailed forward to find a familiar ghostly figure. "Ro…Roku…"

'_Aang, we need to talk, NOW.'_ And with that, the young Avatar collapsed.

"Aang!" Katara cried. Everyone surrounded the boy, not noticing the feminine figure in a hooded robe with a glowing gray-green crystal in her hand watching them from behind a near-by pillar[.]

The Young Avatar awoke to find himself standing in the midst of a field of clouds, surrounded by five figures: his four most recent lives, Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk and Yangchen. Each of their eyes glowed with the light blue light of the Avatar state. The last…the last was someone he had never seen before, but felt strangely familiar, as if he'd seen her before. She had pale skin, black hair. She was dressed in a gray-green kimono of a design foreign to him, her hands tucked in its voluminous sleeves. Her eyes glowed with the light of the Avatar State.

"What's going on?" he asked, confused. "Why have you called me to the spirit world?"

"I am sorry, Aang, but the current situation requires that we have that important conversation, now," Roku said.

"What do you mean?"

"The world has reached a turning point in its history, Aang. The age of the Four Nations is drawing to a close and there is much that you MUST know about the entirety of your role in the world," the unknown lady said.

"Who are you?" Aang asked her.

"I am Avatar Oichi, the thirteenth of all Avatars and the first born amongst the Four Nations, and you must see my story, as well as that of Fourteenth's."

Meanwhile, back on the mortal plane, unable to wait for Aang to awaken, and having deduced he'd been called to the spirit world by his uttering of his predecessor's name, Katara and Zuko quickly bundled Aang into Appa's saddle, and, accompanied by the Fire Lord's bodyguards, flew to the Fire Nation airship. Toph would have joined, but shortly after Aang had fallen unconscious, Toph was suddenly picked up into the air off her feet by a woman draped head to toe in a hooded robe that hid the top half of he face. The Young earthbender struggled to break free, demanding the woman release her, but the woman refused and said, "No, it is time for my lady's afternoon lessons. Your father didn't spend two months hunting one of my order down just so you could waste his kind efforts and circumvent your studies."

The woman, as it turned out, was a tutor who Lord Bei Fong had hired to teach his daughter a special, and revolutionary, method of reading designed for the blind involving paper with specially arranged bumps. She also knew how to evade the girl's unique style of sight and bending. Toph had little interest in knowing how to read let alone learn advance[d] mathematics and boring history; but when the woman mentioned how the Lady Bei Fong might fall ill at her precious daughter's sudden absence, the blind bender resigned her struggled and after the woman put her down bid Katara and Zuko farewell and followed her back into the palace.

After entering the airship through its bomb-bay doors and making sure Appa was comfortably secured, Zuko had one of his guards take Aang to his quarters.

The Fire Lord's quarters, while large, was surprisingly plain. There was a large steel-framed bed in center left wall, just across from a simple steel desk against the wall, between an average-size bookshelf, with maps and various other strolls in them, and vanity; a table stood just left of the room with four chairs, just five feet away from a couch that sat just below the windows that dominated the stern of the room.

Katara looked around "So this is a monarch's room," she said in slight surprise. "It's less than I expected

"My time in exile taught that some luxuries aren't needed," Zuko replied blushing lightly. He turned to the guard carrying the still unconscious Aang. "You may place the Avatar on my bed and then a take a break down in the mess hall." The guard obeyed, bowed respectfully, and then left the room.

"So, you mind explaining to me what the rush is about? Why do you need to get back so quickly?" she asked taking the chair from the desk and sitting down next to Aang. "Did something happen in your meeting with the Prime Minister?"

Zuko was silent as he leaned back against the desk and then said, "The Minority and Majority are factions within the nobilities of the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation. Their full names are the Corrupt Majority and the Virtuous Minority and were given to them in a Bian Nian Shi chronicle on events following a period in history known as the "Grant Mistake". The "balance" the Chronicler was referring to was probably the balance of power between the two factions. In the Fire Nation, the Minority was always loyal to the throne, and I mean that in a very literal sense. It didn't matter to them who was on the throne so long as they had the best interests of the country and the people at heart. If a corrupt crown prince ever inherited the throne, if he had a sibling his reign would last a year at most. If he was an only child, until he produced an heir of his own. Once a suitable heir was born, the Fire Lord would be quietly deposed of and the Minority would establish a regency until the heir came of age. The Minority would also always keep the Fire Lord's eyes on their rivals the Majority, who were always looking for an opportunity to weaken the throne and take control of the country."

"But if the Minority's influence was so great wouldn't it have been better for the Fire Lord to work with the Majority?" Katara asked curiously. Though she wasn't too well versed in politics, nor did she really have an interest, she had enough common sense to figure if you're a monarch and a particular group held a strong influence over your court, than it would only be logical to side with there rivals to balance things out.

"At first glance, yes, that would be a logical choice," the young Fire Lord agreed, "except for one problem: the issue of **trust. **The Majority's interest in gaining access to the court and the Fire Lord was so that they could weaken him, strengthen themselves, and in turn grant favor to the nobility at the expense of the common people. That made them a constant threat, a threat that made them **too** dangerous of a gamble for pre-Sozin Fire Lords to risk. Furthermore, while the Minority wasn't a completely trustful ally, they were still loyal and would strengthen whoever sat on the throne, so long as they ruled fairly, and in accordance with the interest of the people."

"In other words, if the Fire Lord was, say similar to Iroh or better, than they Minority would be his most loyal friends and allies, but if he became like, say, Ozai then they'd get rid of him at the first available opportunity."

"That about sums it up yes." Zuko said. As for the Majority, it was said that they presented such a threat, that if they ever gained a foothold in the court, they'd have the whole thing taken over within a decade."

"So what about the Earth Kingdom?" she asked. "How did things play out there?"

"In the Earth Kingdom, the balance of power between the two factions was more complicated." Zuko answered. "The Earth Kingdom has been… prone to a civil war every other century or so. While the Fire Nation has managed, due in no small part to the Minority's desire to keep a single ruling family in charge for stability's sake; the Earth Kingdom has had many different ruling dynasties, including one that was the predecessor of the Bei Fong Family."

"You're kidding," Katara blurted, goggle-eyed, "The Bei Fongs? You mean, _Toph_ is actually descended from royalty?" She giggled, then quickly smothered it at the look Zuko was giving her.

"Not that I don't understand your surprise," Zuko said after a beat. "Given that the dynasty collapsed centuries ago, it's not something the Bei Fongs advertise. Anyway, getting back to the Earth Kingdom's history, at the beginning of each dynasty, the Minority, after overthrowing the corrupt dynasty that preceded, would be at the height of power, and usher in a period of prosperity and "virtuous governance."" However, as time passed, the Majority would slowly rise to take their place as corruption and deceit slipped in. Eventually, the people would rise up in rebellion, always with an alleged member of the Minority leading the revolt. The Majority, already rotting apart from the inside, would collapse with their dynasty and then sink back into the shadows and regroup, while the Minority restored peace and order."

"How do you know all this?" Katara asked. "I mean I can understand how you would know about the Fire Nation, but how do you know about the Earth Kingdom?"

"As a child I was taught the histories of all the Nations through the Bian Nian Shi's chronicles. The staff about the Minority and Majority I learned from Uncle shortly after I took the throne, along with other things he said I needed to know. Azula's former advisors, Lee and Lo, would give me more information after I returned to the Fire Nation, and Prime Minister He Jin, who's a Minority member, filled in blanks on a few things today."

"I see, so the Minority and Majority aren't in the Bian Nian Shi's chronicles?" Katara asked.

"Out side of the chronicles dictating the events after the "Great Mistake," no; at least not in the one's they released," Zuko explained. "Writing about things like the Minority and Majority would have created…instability…the idea of the nobles controlling the government, whether they make puppets of the monarch or not, wouldn't go over very well with much either nation's pe**o**ple. So while they probably have records somewhere in their archives, wherever the hell those are, they didn't place it in their initial releases."

"So how does all this fit in with today?"

"The balance of power between the two factions has always played a pivotal role in maintaining peace between the nations. So long as the two were too busy fighting each other within the borders of their respective countries, the Fire Lord and the Earth King had their hands full keeping the conflict from exploding into civil war, and as a result had less energy for external conquest. But all that changed after the Earth Kingdom's most recent civil war, started by the regional king of the Western Earth Kingdom, Chin the Conquer. The Minority had originally backed Chin because he, at first, showed himself to be in line with their ideals. It would be a decision their leaders would later regret. As Chin conquered the continent, his true character as a tyrant would be revealed. Even though the Minority eventually withdraw their support, they lacked the power and influence to stop him. Chin would take control of the entire continent except for Ba Sing Se, where the royal forces just barely managed to repel all three of his attempts, including one where he attempted to go under the walls. He ultimately would give up and come up with a different plan, a plan that would finally allow Avatar Kyoshi to act."

"What do you mean by finally, why wouldn't she have been able she act earlier?" Katara asked. The Fire Lord went silent. "Zuko…"

He closed his eyes for a minute in thought and then walked over to a window. "Katara…what I'm about to tell you, must not be repeated to anyone. Not everyone would be able to understand, or even accept it, but I feel you can."

"What do you mean?" Katara asked, confused.

"These are things I learned from uncle," he said. "According to her chronicle, written by the Bian Nian Shi, Kyoshi desperately wanted to intervene and put a stop to Chin after hearing about the first atrocity he committed the complete merciless annihilation of a Northern Earth Kingdom town that was loyal to the ruling dynasty at the time. After defeating their small militia force, he refused to accept their surrender and then used his earthbenders to literally sink the town into the earth and bury every men, women, and child, **alive**." Katara, gasped wide-eyed at his words. "Anyone who tried to flee the town was made dead by arrow-fire. The town had practically been swept from the very face of the earth."

Katara felt building anger and hatred rise in her. Had she been in that time, and had the powered, nothing would have stopped her from making Chin pay for such an atrocious crime. She could only imagine the terror the townspeople must have felt as there town sank and dirt and earth was piled onto them.

"I can understand how you feel," Zuko said as if he knew what she was thinking. "You're probably also wondering, what kept Kyoshi from acting after such horrible act? What would possibly keep her from confronting and making Chin pay?" He blinked slowly, and looked out the window as land quickly passed beneath the airship. "Like you I used to think I understood the Avatar's duty. He's a guardian, a protector of the people and preventer of war, but after I spoke with Uncle shortly after taking the throne, I'm not so sure anymore."

"What do you mean?" Katara asked with a hint worry.

"Despite wanting to intervene in the conflict, despite wanting to make Chin pay for what he'd done, Avatar Kyoshi could do nothing but stand by and watch."

"Is this some kind of joke?" Katara yelled so loudly it echoed through the room, and standing up. Zuko turned and looked at her. "Why in the world would she just stand by and do nothing?"

"Because, I don't know by whom or what, but someone or something, had bound her hands. Uncle wouldn't, or couldn't, elaborate. He just told me that she was circumscribed by some short of "contract" that prevented her from acting until Chin attempted to attack the southern Air Temple."

"He what—but why?" Katara asked.

"He wanted to make use of their air bison to fly over Ba Sing Se's walls and attack the royal palace directly. However, it was that act that finally unbound Kyoshi's hands and allowed her to act. She raced to the Air Nomads defense and after thwarting Chin's attack, rushed back home to defend her homeland that Chin was planning to capture and hold hostage to keep her out of his hair. You know rest."

"Why it would it take Chin attacking the Air Nomads for her to act. Just what in this "contract," kept her from intervening sooner?"

"In truth Katara, it's both simple and obvious," Zuko answered. "The civil war Chin sparked was an internal affairof the Earth Kingdom and so long as it remained such, Kyoshi had no choice but to remain natural."

"But why the hell would that matter?! As the Avatar it was her duty to protect the world. How could she stand by and do nothing as Chin ravaged it?"

"That's just it Katara, he wasn't ravaging the world.He was ravaging the EARTH KINGDOM and only the Earth Kingdom. The war he started was a CIVIL WAR, though it was more brutal than past ones the Earth Kingdom had, it was civil war nonetheless and that made it an internal affair, and Kyoshi, as Avatar, was forbidden from intervening in any nation's internal affairs."

"Again why would that matter?" Katara asked in an anger-fueled tone. "What Chin did was monstrous. Why wouldn't that have been enough of a reason for her to act?"

Zuko looked at her. He knew Katara had a kind heart and that she herself could never ignore such an atrocity if she could help it. He couldn't either, but he also… "If the Avatar, Katara, could go about doing whatever he pleased, if he could intervene in every affair of a nation's government, what could keep him, the most powerful being on in the world, from simply taking over and governing the world himself?" Katara went silent. "You know the answer, you're not naïve. You know the answer as clearly as I do. There would be very little that could stand in his way. There would be some courageous people who would try to fight back, but ultimately they would fail. I acted the same way you did when I heard about this from uncle, but he helped me understand the importance of the Avatar being forbidden from intervening in the nations internal affairs, and I know you can understand it too."

Katara sat back down, turned her head away, and asked. "So what happened to the Minority and Majority's balance of power, after Chin's War?"

"The ruling dynasty, corrupted and controlled by the Majority, continued. For the first time in history the Majority kept their grip on power longer than they should have.While the rest of the world was prospering in the "great era of peace", the Earth Kingdom, after Kyoshi was gone, began to splinter as the Earth King's power dwindled, the regional kings began to act more and more independently. One reason being that it was just more efficient than relying on a weak royal court and the other being ambition. The North, South, and Western Kings all created their own individual courts, and the "Earth Kingdom" had ceased to exist as a whole, and was little more than window-dressing. To make matters worse, each individual kingdom was under the control of the Majority. However, given the Majority's history and the way they treated the common people, they should have still fallen apart and thus given the Minority a second chance to fix things, but surprisingly, they didn't,"

"Why?"

"Shortly after Kyoshi passed, the Majority under went a transformation that's been traced to a sudden change of leadership that put an end to the major infighting they traditionally experienced. I don't who they were, or where they came from. All I know is that they brought others with them along with a new ambition that set their eyes outward."

"I don't like where this is going," Katara stated.

Zuko quirked his lips grimly. "During the reign of my great-great-grandfather, the Earth Kingdom's Majority began to discreetly contact their Fire Nation counterparts and, working together, undermined the only force standing in their way, the Minority. In time they finally got one of their members put in a position where they had the ear of at least one member of the royal family."

"Crown Prince Sozin," Katara said, rather than asked.

"Correct," Zuko said. "I'm going to assume you know where this is headed."

"Yes," Katara nodded. "But I don't understand. Why didn't the Minority remove Sozin before he could start the war?"

"Removal of the monarch required full control of the court, and zero opposition from other government officials. The Majority had greatly weakened the Minority through favoring Sozin's desire for expansion and quietly eliminating key members through various means. Eventually they purged the court completely of all Minority members."

"But if the Majority secretly had control of both countries, why start a war in the first place?" Katara asked.

"That's the strangest thing, I don't know. It was probably to satisfy Sozin."

"But why would the Earth Kingdom Majority let the Fire Nation invade; it doesn't make any sense."

"Again I don't know, but…" he said going into thought.

"But what?"

"Throughout the entire war, much of the nobility was virtually silent."

"What do you mean, 'silent'?"

"I mean what meant. Usually members of the nobility are actively trying to undermine each other, forges special business relationship, or political alliances, but during the war there was while nothing. Underworld Mercenaries and assassins saw almost no work outside of the military."

"Why were they so quite?"

"Because they were busy with other things, while searching through past finance reports, I discovered that during the war my father and grandfather both approved funding for various expeditions into regions that were normally considered to be far too dangerous for anyone to explore due to the fact that very few people who went to them ever returned. Places like the Fuji Jungle to the far south of the capital in the Fire Nation, Sa Ha Ra tundra the west the Northern Water Tribe's main settlement, the Black Mountains just north of the Southern Air Temple, near seeking sands in the Wu Shi Desert, and other locations," the young Fire Lord explained. "I looked into it deeper and I found each and every request was made by father's and grandfather's Minister of Interior."

"Who was the Minister of Interior?" Katara asked.

"Sadly I don't know, my father's entire court was banished by Azula during the final days of the war, and from what I know almost all of them fled the capital after I took the throne. I actually had to build a new completely court from scratch and what 'talented people' were left, which wasn't easy. Much of the Fire Nation's nobility doubt my abilities to rule which is to be expected given my inexperience, but I digress," Zuko said, quickly recovering the original track of their conversation. "I tried my best to look into to the expiditons, but I could find no one who was willing to talk. I could have had tried to force them, but I had vowed to myself that I wouldn't be like my father and let it go. I contacted Master Piandao and he was kind enough to use his connections with the White Lotus to get the information for me."

"I almost forgot about the White Lotus. How do they fit with the two factions?" Katara asked, curious.

"According to uncle the White Lotus are neutral between the two groups, but have members that actually serve some people from both factions and feed them enough information to where the order can keep in the graces of the Minority and stay off the Majority's bad-side," Zuko answered. "Master Piandao informed me that even some members of the White Lotus, particularly anthropologists, have disappeared on some of the expeditions. According to him the bulk of the expeditions were started by the Majority and some the Minority. Both the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation governments helped fund a few of them."

"What, exactly, were they looking for?"

"I'm afraid I don't know, but I do know each one ended in failure, some of those who went on the expeditions disappeared entirely, or came back so traumatized they wanted nothing more than to forget the whole event, and others had to be placed in mental institutions."

"What about He Jin, does he know anything about what they were looking for?"

"I tried asking him once, but all he said what they were looking for something ancient and long forgotten, but he wouldn't elaborate. Whatever it is its important, and they haven't stopped searching. Before I left for Ba Sing Se, I received a funding request for more expeditions from the National College."

"How did you answer?" Katara asked.

"I told them I'd think on it and give them my answer when I get back. But I realize now that I shouldn't have left in the first place, and I'll kick myself if something's happened while I was away," Zuko replied. He lowered eyes with worry. "I just hope Mai's okay."

"I'm sure she is," Katara said comforting. "She doesn't surrender to anyone easily. If something happened I sure she'd found some way to escape."

"Normally that would be true, but she hasn't been the same since Azula's death. For the past week she's spent most of her time in her room and listening to some glowing musical locket."

"Musical locket…"

"Yeah, it's strange. It has this glowing crystal in the middle of and plays this strange, but rather comforting melody."

"…Tell me more…about this musical locket?"

- - -

Aang, the mysterious Oichi and his four most recent lives flew on the back of Roku's Dragon through a tunnel of clouds. They'd been flying for some time and the Young Avatar was growing frustrated with the trip. They'd pulled him to the Spirit World at a very bad time, and every minute he spent there, the more frustrated he became.

"Just where are going again, and why are we going there?" he asked.

"You must see Oichi's story," Roku said.

"And the story of the Fourteenth," Kyoshi said

"But how much longer will it take? It didn't take this long for Roku to show me how the war started," Aang pointed out

"That was because his story was in an era close to your own Aang. But Oichi's is not. Here is connected to final centuries of ancient Four Nations," Yangchen said.

"Hers is a memory deep, deep into the past, in place marked in history long forgotten by the Four Nations and long before a period we know today as the "Great Mistake," in a time when the Four Nations, especially the Air Nation, looked much different than what you would come to know them to be," Kuruk stated.

"Do not worry Aang, we very close now," Oichi said.

Aang looked forward as they drew closer and closer to a bright golden light at the end of the cloud tunnel. He closed his eyes as they passed through a bright barrier, and when he opened them again they instantly went wide with wonder at the majesty he saw before him: an enormous city the likes of which he'd never seen before. It had white walled buildings bearing gray-green wooden frames, some so tall, that he swore their height out reached that of Ba Sing Se's walls, and in the center of the city stood a palace so large and so grand he it put Ba Sing Se's to shame. Various people, all with black hair, pale skin, and wearing clothing similar to Oichi's; were either walking the dark gray-green paths or flying through the air on giant birds with that looked almost like messenger hawks.

Aang looked around with amazement at what he seeing; it all enthralled him and the adventurous child within in him.

"What is this place?" He asked his eyes still gawking.

"This Aang is what the Air Nation used to look like, before number tragic events that would shatter it and place it on the path to becoming the Air Nomads in the wake of the "Great Mistake," a century later. This is…was my home, the ancient capital of the _**Air Imperium**_."


End file.
